Last week, Loara’s ASB leaders traded their usual campus duties for a day of big ideas, awkward icebreakers, and a whole lot of trust-building at the Envolve leadership training. The event, led by motivational speaker and student-engagement expert Scott Backovich, brought together student leaders from all nine comprehensive high schools in the Anaheim Union High School District. Hosted at Kennedy High School, the training was backed by the AUHSD Board, Cabinet, and our district’s Activities Directors.
So… what exactly is Envolve? Think of it as leadership training minus the boring lectures. Scott Backovich has worked with schools across the country, and his Envolve program is dedicated to creating real change on campus, not just by hosting cool events, but by ensuring every student feels connected. The big idea? If you want people to show up, get involved, and care about your school, you have to start by building trust. And that’s exactly what we practiced all day.
The day kicked off with a challenge to “make a friend.” Sounds simple, right? Except you had to start a conversation in a setting that was deliberately uncomfortable. The point was to figure out how to help others feel at ease, even when the situation feels awkward. By the end, we weren’t just making friends, we were making best friends.
Next up was “make an opp,” short for “opponent.” One person had to (lightly) taunt the other, just enough to make them uncomfortable, while the other person had to respond without losing their cool. This exercise was about empathy, realizing how little comments or actions can break trust, even if you didn’t mean them that way.
The last major activity was “make a group.” We had to walk up to other students from different schools, ask them to join us, and then come up with a plan for an event that would give back to the student body. The catch? It had to be something that people would actually want to participate in. We had to think past the “what sounds fun to us” stage and focus on “what would bring people together.”
Throughout the day, we laughed, got a little uncomfortable, and had some real talks about how we interact with people outside our usual friend groups. We learned that being a leader isn’t about being the loudest person in the room, it’s about creating a space where people feel safe, heard, and included.
By the end of Envolve, our ASB walked away with more than just a few new event ideas. We left with a better understanding of how to connect with students who might feel left out, how to bring different groups together, and how to make Loara’s campus a place where trust is the foundation of everything we do.
It turns out that leadership isn’t just about planning, it’s about people. And after this training, we’re ready to make that happen.
